3 Questions Facilities Managers Will Always Ask

What do you fancy for dinner? Will you be home soon? Unfortunately, these are not questions that traditional facilities and site managers will ask their third party contractors. We receive many questions from clients before, during and even after projects and we always do what we can to make sure we answer their queries.

To help out any facilities managers that may read this blog, we have discussed the 3 questions facilities managers will always ask.

Going on site without talking to the main point of contact is like entering your friend’s house and raiding their fridge without asking first. You simply wouldn’t do it.

Naturally, there are many questions to answer before the project has started, helping to put many facilities and site managers minds at rest.

Recently, we had an issue where a site manager had agreed the work with us for a set date and told us that the work was good to progress with. However, after starting the project the site manager had a couple of additional questions so we told ourselves (literally) that we wouldn’t start any building projects until the point of contact, site manager and facilities manager was satisfied.

Inevitably one of the first questions was “how much will X cost us?”

There is nothing wrong with inquiring about prices. In fact – we welcome it. A facilities manager (or at least a good one) will be willing to discuss pricing structures with you and in most scenarios will understand that good work will cost – just like in any industry.

For example, if you pay a second rate fee for a boiler service, you will most likely get a second rate heating engineer or at least someone with less experience that may take a lot longer than someone who has been doing it for a long time.

As well as costs, time-frames and deadlines are usually considered.

“When can you complete X?”

Corporate building maintenance such as on site spraying and coatings usually has a lot of deadlines. Being able to meet those deadlines can separate you from rival contractors and help you secure the project.

“How long will X take?”

A question that is heavily associated with the previous one really. It all links back to the contractor’s ability to meet deadlines and get things done.

However, if you are a facilities manager – please do not assume that a contractor that is instantly available is a good one. To be honest, they may be a good contractor, but the majority of traders in demand will have a booked diary, and an element of patience will be required.